CAPE TOWN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Africa will continue to cooperate in the areas of peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.
South Africa commits itself to partnering with the DRC government and people in pursuit of peace, security, stability and economic development and prosperity, Zuma said upon return from Kinshasa, the DRC where he co-chaired the 9th sesion of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) with his DRC counterpart Joseph Kabila.
During the BNC, the two heads of state reviewed progress made on bilateral programmes during the first decade of the BNC.
South Africa has deployed more than 1,300 peace keepers in the DRC, participating in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission as part of the Force Intervention Brigade mandated by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2098.
On the sidelines of the BNC meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement by the ministers responsible for transport. This agreement enables the two countries to facilitate movement of people and expand aviation cooperation.
Zuma said milestones were achieved during the first decade of structured bilateral relations with the DRC, especially in peace, security and institutional capacity building projects, as well as identified economic projects.
The second decade of the BNC should be characterised by strategic cooperation and partnership and enhanced interaction between South Africa and the DRC, said Zuma.
"We have decided that the next decade of our BNC should intensify the implementation of joint economic projects, in particular the Grand Inga Hydropower Project, whose founding Treaty was signed on 30 October 2013.
Zuma highlighted the fact that more needs to be done to improve economic relations and enhanced cooperation among the South African and Congolese business sectors, including in the mining sector, by increasing trade and investment between the two countries.
The two countries cooperate in several projects covering various fields, including security sector reform, infrastructure development, capacity and institutional building, humanitarian and social matters.
South Africa is the DRC's biggest supplier of foreign goods and services, providing more than 20 percent of the country's total imports.
Bilateral trade increased from 11 billion rand (about 833 million U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 13 billion rand (about 985 million dollars) in 2014.
